The present invention relates to textile winding machines and, more particularly, to a bobbin winding machine of the type having a plurality of winding stations whereat a first yarn cop is disposed in an active delivery position for yarn unwinding therefrom and at least one other cop is stored in a reserve position.
In bobbin winding machines of the aforementioned type, a cop conveyor system is typically provided with associated devices for transferring reserve cops from the conveyor system to the respective reserve positions at the plural winding stations. Alternatively, cops may be fed manually into the reserve positions. A cop receptacle is provided at each reserve position in association with the transport plane of the conveyor system and is switchably movable from a flat position for receiving reserve cops from the conveyor system into an inclined position for discharging a reserve cop for automatic transferral from the reserve position to the delivery position. Yarn cops typically comprise a yarn tube about which a quantity of yarn is wound, with the opposite nose and foot ends of the tube remaining exposed, a reserve cop preferably being introduced into the receptacle with its foot portion oriented as the leading end of the cop.
Prior to the placement of reserve cops into the reserve positions, the leading end of the yarn wound thereon is usually placed in a predetermined location, such as either setting the leading yarn end on the cop nose or inserting the yarn end into the interior bore through the yarn supporting tube, thereby to prepare the reserve cop for subsequent unwinding operation. Generally, such preparatory measures are performed at automatic cop preparing stations which may be set up at one end of the bobbin winding machine or may be separate therefrom and from which the prepared cops are automatically fed to the cop conveyor system.
Such a cop conveyor system may comprise, for example, a conveyor belt on which the prepared cops are placed in alignment with one another and from which the cops are fed as needed to the receptacles at the reserve positions of the winding machine. For this purpose, controllable switching devices may be provided in association with the conveyor at each winding station for deflecting a cop from the conveyor into the receptacle at a winding station whose reserve position is empty. A representative cop conveyor system with associated switching devices of the above-described type is disclosed in detail in German Offenlegungsschrift DE-OS No. 35 14 935. In the apparatus of this application, a cop receptacle at the reserve position is switchable from a generally flat cop-receiving position into a relatively inclined position wherein the tube nose of a reserve cop within the receptacle is brought adjacent to a controllable yarn suction device which is operable to attract the leading yarn end of the reserve cop from within the bore of its supporting tube and holds the yarn end so as to be ready for introduction into the yarn winding station. A disadvantage of this apparatus, however, is that the yarn suction device makes access to the winding station more difficult, such as for example may be necessary for making manual corrections or adjustments.